Lemekh and His Wives in Art/0/en

Lemekh in Art

Overview

The character of Lamekh appears in Tanakh only briefly, relaying an enigmatic speech to his wives which hints to a murder, but does not elaborate further.  The four artworks displayed here, the painting by William Blake,¹ the woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, ² the engraving by the Alexander Master,³ and the miniature from the Speculum humanæ salvationis all depict the event. The portrayals differ in almost every detail, from the choice of characters included, to the emotions they express and the actions they commit.  The variety reflects the many different ways the story has been understood.

Contrasting Images

Blake

Blake's image is full of pathos with a grief-stricken Lemech taking center stage.  Lemech pulls his hair in anguish as he looks at the dead body sprawled on the floor by his feet.  His wives stand to the side, embracing each other in their shared sorrow as they look at both their husband and his victim.

Schnorr

Schnorr's Lamekh has no resemblance to that of Blake.  He is not tormented by heartache but rather stands proud and defiant, his sword raised in a sign of victory.   He runs home to his waiting wives and family, who look up at him with admiration.

Alexander Master

The Alexander Master depicts Lemech as a hunter.  He stands to the viewer's left, holding his bow and arrow, aiming to shoot.  Near him a young boy lies face down on the ground, while a second man lies a bit further away with an arrow through his heart.  This Lemekh's emotions are hard to read, and contain neither signs of despair nor pride.

Speculum humanæ salvationis

This depiction differs form the others in that it contains no hints of violence on the part of Lemech at all, no sword and no dead bodies.  Instead, a somewhat foolish looking Lemech stands in between his two wives, who raise their fists at him and pull on his hair.  Lemech raises his hands as if to say, "enough, what do you want from me?"

Relationship to the Biblical Text

The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:

How many dead bodies?

Boast, complaint or lament?

Lemech's wives

¹ William Blake (1757-1827) was a British painter and poet associated with the Romantic movement.  The painting is housed in the Tate Gallery, London.

² Schnorr (1794-1872) was a German painter of the Nazarene movement.  He made over 200 engravings of Biblical scenes for for a Picture Bible, Die Bibel in Bildern.

³ This image is from the History Bible (KB, 78 D 38 I), c. 1430, which contains over 50 miniatures.  It is housed in the National Library of the Netherlands, the Hague.